Former "Fly Girl" Jennifer Lopez is poised to return to television — this time as a judge on "American Idol."

The singer-dancer-actor was close to signing a deal to join Fox TV's hit singing contest, a person familiar with the negotiations said late Thursday. The person, who was not authorized to comment publicly, spoke on condition of anonymity.

The "American Idol" opening for Lopez comes with comedian-talk show host Ellen DeGeneres' departure from the show.

Degeneres announced Thursday she was leaving after one year as judge.

"A couple months ago, I let Fox and the 'American Idol' producers know that this didn't feel like the right fit for me," DeGeneres said in a statement. The comedian-talk show host said she realized that while she "loved discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings."

In May, Simon Cowell exited after nine seasons to start a new talent show for Fox.

Video: Who will replace Ellen on ‘Idol’? J.Lo?

Transcript of: Who will replace Ellen on ‘Idol’? J.Lo?

AMY ROBACH, anchor:Some big news from the hit show "
American Idol
" last night,
Ellen DeGeneres
is quitting after only one season as judge and there are reports this morning that
Kara
is also out.
Anne Marie Cruz
is the staff editor at
People magazine
, which first broke the news about
Ellen
.
Anne Marie
, good morning.

Ms. ANNE MARIE CRUZ (Staff Editor, People Magazine):Good morning.

ROBACH:So this sounds like a huge overhaul, there's lots of rumors swirling around about the judges' panel, it seems like they've kind of cleaned slate, so to speak. Why is
Ellen DeGeneres
leaving after just one short season? We had heard that she had signed a multi-year deal prior to this.

Ms. CRUZ:Mm-hmm. Yes. She felt that she was not a good fit, especially since she was so uncomfortable with judging other people and making them potentially feel bad. Plus, she said that having a day job and a night job was a little too much for her.

ROBACH:Yet there are some reports that she was perhaps forced out...

Ms. CRUZ:Mm-hmm.

ROBACH:...and that the producers were already looking to overhaul the judges' table with
Simon
leaving.

Ms. CRUZ:Right.

ROBACH:Any truth to that?

Ms. CRUZ:That's not something that I can comment on, but in terms of her sensing that people were not entirely happy with her performance, I think that's probably a big factor in her decision.

ROBACH:Right. She released a statement to
People magazine
...

Ms. CRUZ:Yes.

ROBACH:...saying she let
Fox
and the "Idol" producers know that, as you mentioned, "this didn't feel like the right fit me" a couple of months ago.

Ms. CRUZ:Right.

ROBACH:But that she'd wait to leave the show until the producers figured out where they wanted to take the panel next.

Ms. CRUZ:Mm-hmm.

ROBACH:So if we can go ahead by those words and say...

Ms. CRUZ:Yeah.

ROBACH:...well, she said she's out, that must mean that the producers know who they want in her place.

Ms. CRUZ:Right. It's an interesting turn of phrase. And that's -- it really does fit in with what we've heard from a couple of sources that
Jennifer Lopez
is definitely going to be a permanent judge. So
Fox
isn't talking about it, but we have different -- we have two different sources saying that.

ROBACH:All right. So it's not -- so it could be a done deal or...

Ms. CRUZ:Yes, it could be.

ROBACH:You think it probably is. OK.

Ms. CRUZ:Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean, she's perfect.

ROBACH:She would be.

Ms. CRUZ:Like, she would bring a sexy element to a show that hasn't had sexy in a while, I think.

ROBACH:OK. Well, as we mentioned earlier,
Ellen
not the only judge stepping down, we know obviously that
Simon Cowell
...

Ms. CRUZ:That's correct.

ROBACH:...is leaving, too, but we haven't heard who his replacement may be...

Ms. CRUZ:Mm-hmm.

ROBACH:...although there are some names are floating around,
Justin Timberlake
has been mentioned...

Ms. CRUZ:Mm-hmm.

ROBACH:...
Steven Tyler
has been mentioned...

Ms. CRUZ:Right. Right, right.

ROBACH:...
Elton John
even.

Ms. CRUZ:Yeah.

ROBACH:What are you hearing?

Ms. CRUZ:I mean, that's a
reality show
in itself, right?

ROBACH:Right.

Ms. CRUZ:Well, we actually heard that
Justin
was not ever discussed in terms of his rep talking to us. But also there is
Jessica Simpson
and Usher.

ROBACH:Hm.

Ms. CRUZ:And these are just names that are being thrown out as dream candidates.

ROBACH:OK.

Ms. CRUZ:But when you have
J.Lo
, I mean, that's a great start.

ROBACH:Yeah, who else do you need, right?

Ms. CRUZ:Yeah.

ROBACH:So -- and so that leaves
Kara
and
Randy
.

Ms. CRUZ:Mm-hmm.

ROBACH:And now there are rumors that
Kara
may be leaving.

Ms. CRUZ:Yes. That's unconfirmed, but with
Nigel Lythgoe
, who is the former
executive producer
of the show, possibly coming back, he had said last year that he wanted to
clean slate
...

ROBACH:Hm.

Ms. CRUZ:...and, you know, get a whole bunch of new judges if
Simon
left, so.

ROBACH:All right. So what would you think about a
Randy Jackson
,
J.Lo
,
Steven Tyler
of
Aerosmith
trio of judges? How do you think that would do?

Ms. CRUZ:I think that would be amazing. I mean, what a great way to start off a whole new era for the 10th season of the show. You have -- I think
Randy
and
J.Lo
would have an amazing chemistry. And then you have
Steven Tyler
who's sort of the
X-factor
. I mean...

ROBACH:Yeah.
Let's see
if he can be like
Simon
or not.

Ms. CRUZ:Yeah, yeah, yeah.

ROBACH:I think we need one of those cutting-edge judges to carry it over.